It's OK To Not Be Ok...Right?

57. Don't Look Back In Anger

"Ron, where did you get this?" Sloane asked, taking the fake wand in her hands. The one she remembered so clearly. The one that still reads 'Argus Filch' in crooked writing along the length.

"Dunno," he shrugged and then cursed. "Where is my wand?"

"It has to be wherever you found this...stick?" Blaise said as he looked over Sloane's shoulder.

"I know where this was," Sloane offered. "And if you were down there, you are lucky to have not a scratch on you."

"Eh?" Ron asked, confused. The potions may have cured his hangover, but they did nothing for his back, which was in agony since he had ended up sleeping against a concrete pillar on the floor.

"This was a twig, Filch had carved to look like a wand. He dropped it when he saw that thing that attacked me. I was holding onto it when you found me, and when Draco picked me up, I dropped it." Sloane explained.

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Down there?" Sloane nodded. "Ronald, you bloody idiot! You went down there?"

"I....-" Ron started, but Luna interrupted.

"He couldn't have. We destroyed the staircase, remember?"

"But Luna, the Aurors rebuilt it so they could go down," Draco explained. He moved and took Sloane's hand, giving it a squeeze. Luna made an 'O' shape with her mouth but did not say anything. There were a few moments of silence.

"Ron, you are lucky that thing didn't come back," Sloane said, looking at him like he was insane.

"But the Aurors searched the place, and it was gone." Ron shrugged, a little freaked out that he was down there but not wanting to admit it.

"But that doesn't mean it didn't come back!" Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, Ron, that was reckless. Very reckless."

"Hermione, lighten up!" Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes. She looked like he wanted to smack him.

"So," Blaise said, trying to defuse the tension. "Does that mean that your wand is still potentially down there?" Ron looked horrified. He hadn't considered that. It never even crossed his mind.

"How are you going to get it?" Luna asked, looking worried. She knew that he needed his wand, but the thought of going back down there scared the shit out of her.

"We will have to go to McGonagall," Hermione shrugged. "We will -"

"Do no such thing!" Ron snapped. "She will bloody kill me. Then mum will bring me back from the dead to kill me all over again."

"But you need your -" Sloane started.

"I KNOW!" He said, trying to think but making Sloane and Luna jump. "I know. I know. But I am not going to McGonagall. I will figure it out another way." Ginny folded her arms. She loved her brother, but sometimes, he was a bloody tosser.

"Shoot! Guys, we need to head to breakfast before class starts," Harry said, checking his watch. Maybe one of his most prized possessions besides his wand. Mrs. Weasley had given him a watch when he turned seventeen. A family heirloom she had told him. It meant the world to him that she would give him something that was reserved for family members. He wore it every day.

"Great! I am starving!" Ron said as Ginny smacked the back of his head before dragging Blaise out of the room. 

"Hey!" Ron and Blaise protested.

"Come on, Ron," Luna said affectionately. "Let's get you some food." She took him by the arm, linking hers through his, and they set off.

The last two couples watched as they rounded the corner. "Are you worried?" Sloane asked Harry.